The Rescue
by trustingHim17
Summary: Sequel to my Daughter of Poseidon. Piper and Alex find out Jason needs help. I didn't mean to but it starts out a bit like Titan's Curse. Please R & R. Constructive criticism ok. Flames are for making s'mores! Probably should be K but rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**I know it's a little short and I'm sorry. My chapters tend to run short. I need 3 reviews before I post the next chapter. This is a sequel to my other story, Daughter of Poseidon. I don't own PJO, HoO, or KC!**

The morning of spring break Piper wakes up thinking Finally. A whole week of doing nothing. She lays there for a minute then stretches and prepares to start her lazy day. She looks at the foot of her bed and jumps. Somebody's in her room!

"Who's there?" she asks as she reaches for the light switch.

"Just me," Alex says as the light comes on. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to camp with me. I had a dream last night. Annabeth said Jason was in trouble and they needed my help. I figured you would want to come along."

"Of course I want to come!" Piper replied. "Let me just get ready." Piper was used to stuff like this by now. She would usually hang out at camp for days at a time, and go back and forth between there and school on weekdays. Her dad always thought she was with friends, which wasn't an entire lie. They just weren't friends from school. She fastened Katoptris to her belt.

"Let's go."

She wrote her dad a note saying she had gone with Alex and didn't know when they would be back and put it on the table, then they left. As they walked the mile or so to camp they caught up on what had been going on. Even though they went to school together and even lived together after Piper's dad adopted Alex they didn't hang out much anymore.

"Do you know anything else?" Piper asked.

"No. All I know is that Annabeth wants our help."

"I hope he's alright."

"Me too."

They walked into the camp and looked around. Everyone was trying to do their normal things, but you could tell something was on their mind. Piper and Alex share a frightened look and search for Annabeth.

**Remember! Review**


	2. Chapter 2

**Come on guys! I've got 44 views but only 2 reviews? That's pitiful! Thank you to perrolson and pjato-lover for reviewing. You two get cookies. (::) (::) **

Piper spots her in her cabin peering over something.

"Annabeth?"

"Oh, hey. I didn't hear you come in."

"Alex had a dream last night that you needed help. What's going on?"

"I got a message from Jason yesterday. He said there were two demigods at his school. He also thinks their teacher is a monster. He has been trying to keep them separated but it won't work for long. He needs our help to get them out."

"Ok. Where is he?"

"He's at Hollingsworth Military Academy in Stamford, Connecticut."

"Ok. That's not far from here. 30 miles maybe? What are we going to do?"

"Well now that you're here let's find Argus and get going."

They spotted Argus feeding the dragon so they grabbed their stuff and went to ask him to give the three of them a ride to Connecticut. He said "Yes" and, after leaving a note for Chiron, they left.

After about a 30 minute drive they reached the school. Pulling in, Piper thought it looked spooky. Even in the spring time, when everything was coming alive again after winter, the school looked like it was Halloween. The school was a big castle that appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. It had more dark spires than any of them could count.

"Why did Jason come here?" Piper had to ask.

"Why would anyone come here?" Alex added.

"He picked it because he liked the classes they offer. Since he had some free time aside from building the Argo II he decided to take a few classes. I think finding the demigods was an accident," said Annabeth.

They walked into the school, keeping an eye out for teachers. Piper wondered why it was so quiet. When they looked in the gym they found out. Every kid in the school, it seemed, was there. It appeared they were on break too and the students who didn't go home just did whatever. Piper spotted Jason in the corner and they went towards him. She ran up to give him a hug, then introduced Alex, whom he hadn't met before.

"My dad adopted her soon after our quest," she told him. "Her mom is Jane and her dad is Poseidon."

"So who are the half-bloods?" Annabeth asked. "You said there were two."

"There are," he replied "Cassandra and Nickolas, I don't know their parentage. They are probably Greek since they are not with Lupa, but I haven't been able to get close enough to get to know them. The monster keeps showing up before I can."

"Who's the teacher and what monster do you think he is?" Annabeth wanted to know.

"He's our Dean of Students, Dr. Thorn."

**Ohh, didn't expect that one. How will Annabeth react? I need 4 reviews to find out. And this time I'm not updating early. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Review if you want. I'm sick of begging. More reviews=faster posting. If I don't get feedback, I'll just post whenever I feel like it.**

**Anyway, remember this was written a while back, but any tips will be used for future stories (I'm working on a crossover right now).**

Piper looked over at Annabeth to ask what they would do. All the color had drained from her face.

"Annabeth? Are you ok?" ask Piper, suddenly very worried.

Annabeth looked at Jason. "Did you just say Dr. Thorn?"

"Yeah. Um, does that mean something?"

"We've got our work cut out for us. Three years ago he succeeded in kidnapping a goddess...and me", she added under her breath, but Piper heard her. She decided to let it pass.

"So how do we defeat it and save Cassandra and her brother?" Jason asked.

"And how do we know when we've found them? What do they look like?" Alex added

"Cassandra is fair-skinned with darker hair. She's pretty lean and usually wears and floppy red hat that mostly hides her freckles. Nick is also fair-skinned and has darker hair. He's looks pretty athletic. They both appear to be pretty strong and love to fiddle with stuff," Jason describes.

"Let's split up. Piper, you and Alex go that way," Annabeth pointed to the right, "Jason, you come with me. Meet hear in 10 minutes if you don't find them. If you do find them leave some kind of trail for the other team to follow."

"Ready?" Piper asks. They nod. "Let's go then"

Piper and Alex ambled to the right keeping an eye out for the kids. Who they found was Dr. Thorn. He was watching them closely with his two toned eyes. They decided to throw him off the trail by pretending not to take any notice of him. They wandered away to a different corner.

"There they are," Alex whispered.

"Great. Keep an eye on them while I find the others. And if they go, don't follow them without leaving a note."

Piper went to search for the others. After a few minutes she spotted them. She caught their eye and they came over.

"I found them. Follow me." She lead them back to where Alex was waiting.

"They're still here," Alex told them, "but Dr. Thorn could be here any minute. Let's get them out of here."

They walked over to the siblings. Piper noticed Cassandra was about twelve years old with light brown hair. She was wearing a t-shirt, light jeans, her hat, and sneakers. Her brother, Nick, looked about eleven with the same color hair. He had on a jacket over his t-shirt, darker jeans, and also had on sneakers. Both of them looked like they always worked out because they were big and muscular. You wouldn't think a girl so young could look so strong but she did. They appeared to be playing a card game.

When the group got there the two looked up from their game. They recognized Jason and said hello, but they just looked at the other three. Jason introduced them all and said, "Would you come with us? We were told to come get you. You're in danger here."

"What do you mean?" Cassandra asked "What danger? What are you talking about?"

"We can't explain it all right now," replied Alex. "But this has to do with your parents. You know Jason, though you don't know us. You need to leave this school."

"We've been spotted," Annabeth said.

They all looked at her then toward where she was looking. Dr. Thorn was staring right at them.

"We need to leave, now!" cried Piper.

Cassandra and Nick were looking around frantically. They didn't know what was going on. Piper told them, "We'll explain on the way, but we need to go before he figures out who we are! Come on!" She took off, looking back to make sure the others were following.

Cassandra and Nick looked at Jason and when they say how scared he was they grabbed their bags and ran after the other four. They sprinted out the front door and ran into the woods. They were about to stop and take a break when they heard a roar behind them. The group put on a burst of speed with Annabeth urging them to go faster. The others could tell by her face that she was terrified. She looked at Jason and nodded. Suddenly they were up in the air, soaring to the southwest.

"What's going on!?" Nick screamed. He looked over at Jason and saw he was concentrating hard.

"You're doing this?" he asked

"Yes," Annabeth replied. "Jason is the son of Zeus. He can control the winds."

"Son of ZEUS?! Like in Greek mythology?" asked Cassandra.

"Yes," replied Alex. "All of us are demigods and so are you."

"What are you talking about? Greek gods don't exist. Their false," said Nick

"I know it's hard to believe but they are still around. Do you remember what they did in all the stories?" Annabeth asked.

"They always had kids," Cassandra replied.

"Right. They still do. How do you think Jason could control the winds?" she looked at Alex. The lake they were flying over reached up and pushed them along until they were past it, "or how Alex just did that? We are demigods, and so are you. Do you know either of your parents?"

"Our mom died when we were little. We never knew our dad. We were told he was dead. An inheritance paid for our schools."

"Your dad's not dead. Did you ever have strange things happen when you were really little?"

Nick got excited, "Cassandra, do remember that driver we had for a while? I told you he had horns. He looked like a goat with a man's body."

"That was probably a satyr, trying to see if you were ready to go to camp."

"What camp?" Cassandra wanted to know.

"That camp," Alex pointed to where they were landing.

They were slowly descending onto a field in the middle of a circle of cabins. It looked like the typical summer camp until you noticed the lava wall and the pegasi circling the camp.

"Welcome home. This is Camp Half-Blood," Alex said

**What'll happen next? Review to find out quicker. I post on here to get feedback. Good story? Bad story? Tell me what you think. Flames are for making s'mores, but criticism is welcome. R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I have gotten a whopping 0 reviews. Awesome. (notice the sarcasm). Is anyone even reading?**

**Last chapter: ** _ They were slowly descending onto a field in the middle of a circle of cabins. It looked like the typical summer camp until you noticed the lava wall and the pegasi circling the camp.__ "Welcome home. This is Camp Half-Blood," Alex said_

"Cool!" Nick cried, "Look at that lava wall! Is it real?"

"Yep. I suggest you do the easiest level first," Jason said. He was rubbing a scar on his arm.

"This place is weird. Where are we?" asked Cassandra.

"You're at the north end of Long Island, NY. Let's go find Chiron, the camp director. He'll probably put you in the Hermes cabin til we know who your parent is. They went with Jason but Piper held Annabeth back. After they were out of earshot Piper asked, "What was that thing back at the school? And why were you so scared?"

Annabeth took a deep breath, "That was a manticore. Three years ago me, Percy, and Thalia went to get Nico and his sister, Bianca out of a school similar to Hollingsworth. We met the manticore there. He managed to kidnap me and took me to Mt. Tam in California, where he tricked me into holding up the sky," She fingered the grey streak in her hair. Now Piper knew where it came from. "Eventually, Percy, Thalia, and a few others rescued me and Artemis, who had also been captured. I thought the manticore had been killed in the fight but either he wasn't or he's reformed with the Doors of Death opening." She looked off into space for a minute then said, "Come on, let's find the others and see if Cassandra and Nick have been claimed."

They finally found them at the big house talking to Chiron.

"Hey Chiron," said Annabeth and Piper, "Any idea who their parent is?"

"Hi kids. No they haven't been claimed yet. Maybe they'll be claimed at dinner."

"Wait, what does 'claimed' mean?" asked Cassandra.

Alex answered, "Claimed means when your parent gives a sign showing that you are theirs."

Just then everyone gasped. Above both their heads rotated a flaming hammer. Cassandra and Nick looked up and saw it just before it disappeared.

"_That _is claiming," Piper said. Your dad is Hephaestus, god of fire, crafts, and blacksmiths. C'mon. I'll show you your cabin. See you later Chiron."

They left the big house and walked to the cabin area. They came to a cabin that looked a lot like a forge.

"Hey Leo," Piper said, "Brought you some siblings. This is Cassandra and Nick."

"Hello there. I'm Leo, your counselor, let's find you two a bunk," Leo looked around. "How about these in the corner? Will that work?"

"Uhh...Sure," Cassandra replied.

Leo noticed she was nervous. "Don't worry; we'll take care of you. We're siblings, remember?"

"Well, I'll leave you to get comfortable. Show them where dinner is, would you Leo?"

"Sure thing Annabeth," Leo replied.

Annabeth led Piper away from the cabin, out of ear shot from everyone else.

"I noticed something while we were there."

**What did Annabeth see? You know what to do. I know I'm still not that great at writing, but that's why I post on here. R&R Please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Still no reviews :( but some have started following. Thanks for reading.**

"I saw this closet that had a heavy duty lock on it. When I went to check it out, I thought I heard a muffled sound, like someone trying to get out. I think someone is being held there. Do you know if anyone has been missing?"

"No, but I know a good way to find out. Let's go find Chiron."

They looked for several minutes before they finally found Chiron leaving the archery class he taught. He spotted Piper first.

"Hey Piper. Hey Annabeth. Is there something wrong?"

Actually there is, Chiron," Piper replied, "While we were at Hollingsworth, Annabeth noticed a closet that appeared to be holding someone captive. Has anyone gone missing recently?"

Chiron just stared at them.

"Chiron? Did you hear me?"

Suddenly he snaps out of his reverie. "What? Oh, right, anyone missing. No, I haven't heard about anyone missing. Are you sure it was someone struggling? It might have just been something falling off a shelf."

Piper and Annabeth exchange a glance. "Ok, I guess it might have been that. See you Chiron," Piper said. They started to walk away but then Piper pulled Annabeth around the corner. "Did you see how he didn't want to make eye contact? He's hiding something. Let's follow him. I hate it when he tries to protect us."

They tailed him through camp until they saw him go into the Big House. They went over to a window that was out of sight of the rest of the camp. It was slightly open and they would be able to hear what he was saying. He dug a drachma out of his pocket and went over to a fountain. Turning on a light behind it, he created a rainbow. Then he tossed the drachma into it and said, "Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Olympus."

The picture changed from mist to the throne room. It appears that the gods were having a conference but when the Iris message went through every eye turned to Chiron.

Piper and Annabeth quickly ducked out of sight of the message.

"I'm sorry I interrupted but I just had a camper ask if someone was missing. Has anyone had news of Hestia?"

It was Zeus who spoke. "That is what we were just discussing. There has been no news of where she is and we have run out of places to look. Did your camper tell how they came to that conclusion?"

"Annabeth, Piper and Alex went to Hollingsworth Military Academy in Connecticut to help Jason get a couple of new campers away from a monster. While they were there Annabeth saw a closet that was locked and heard some scuffling. When they asked me about it just now I didn't tell them anything. What do you want me to do?"

"Hmm, don't help them, but if they figure it out, let them. If they do figure it out they'll likely ask for a quest. You can decide whether or not to grant it."

"That's all I needed to know," and Chiron swiped his hand through the Iris message.

Piper and Annabeth, still out of sight, exchanged a glance, then quickly moved off to talk.

"We have got to find someone, then go back. She might still be there," Piper said.

"Ok, but who? No one would want to go on a quest like this. Most don't even know who Hestia is," Annabeth replied.

"Sure they do. We just might have to explain a little. We could take Willow with us. She needs the experience." She paused. "On second thought, let's go for Jason. Easy in, easy out, since we could fly. I know you don't want to face Dr. Thorn again but we need to get Hestia before they move her."

"Let's go find Jason."

They eventually tracked him down in the arena, practicing. He was using his new gladius to disembowel a line of straw dummies. He noticed them after a minute, "Oh, sorry.'

"It's ok," Annabeth answered, "We were just wondering if you were up for another quest."

"Sure, what about? Chiron didn't mention anything."

"That's because Chiron doesn't know," Piper replied. "Hestia has gone missing-he knows that-but we know where she is and we need to get her out before they move her. While we were looking for you and Hollingsworth Annabeth saw a closet door that was heavily padlocked. We think she's in there. Want to help?"

"You know I do. When are we leaving?"

This time Annabeth answered, "We thought right after dinner would work. That way no one would look for us until morning. By then we might even be done."

"Sounds good to me," he replied. "Meet at Thalia's tree directly after dinner."

They went their separate ways to get ready. As soon as dinner was done anybody looking would have seen three figures sneak up to the top of the hill. Luckily, no one was looking. They walked a ways down the road then, once out of sight of camp, they gathered around Jason and took off.

**R & R!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm in a good mood, plus I had a review and some new followers, so I decided to update. **

**echizenochi: cookies for reviewing! (::) (::) as for your hope, I changed up the plot a bit. you'll see...**

**to those newer readers, please remember that this story was written a year ago or more. i meant it to be short, and I'm still not that great with detail. I try, but I'm still a new writer, and my details are pretty shallow. And tips will be used for future stories-like the crossover I'm working on right now.**

**I don't own PJO, HoO, or KC!**

A few minutes later, they landed in the woods outside the school. It looked even creepier after dark.

"Ok, Annabeth, where was this closet?" Piper asked.

"Follow me," she replied.

They tiptoed into the building and looked around to get their bearings. _Everything looks so different at night, _Piper thought. Following Annabeth, they made their way down the hall, past the main offices and quite a few classrooms. Annabeth had just whispered, "Almost there," when they suddenly heard voices coming towards them. They all duck into a corner and try not to make a sound.

"Do you think they heard her? She won't keep still, I ended up putting the gold chains on her after those demigods escaped," an angry but carefully restrained voice said.

"Dr. Thorn," Annabeth mouths.

"I doubt that, sir. They would have tried to free her immediately, I think," another voice replied.

"You may be right, but take extra precautions for a few days."

"Yes, sir." They continued down the hall and out of sight.

"That was close," Piper whispers. "Let's hurry."

They move quickly down the hallway, turning down another hall, which opened into a large room. Piper realizes it's the same room everyone was gathered in earlier.

Annabeth leads them to the first door and tries quietly to open it. "Locked," she whispers.

"Let me try," Piper replies. She steps to the door, reaching into her pocket as she goes. Withdrawing a couple bobby pins, she works at the lock. Finally, she hears a faint _click _and the door opens. She notices the others' open mouth. "I've always wanted to be a secret agent," she whispers. "Come on." They sneak inside and shut the door, after putting tape over the hole so they could get out again, if needed.

Inside, they quickly figure out it's not a closet and try to find where Hestia is. For the room it appears to be from the outside, it was much bigger on the inside. Finally, they discover a bundle, tied in gold rope, behind some crates. Piper uses Katoptris to saw through the binds. As soon as they were cut, the bundle turned into Hestia. She jumped up, preparing to fight….

**Sorry it's short, but we're getting near the end and that was the best place to break the chapter. I like to find a slight cliffhanger to end on, if you haven't noticed. And yes this ended in the middle of a sentence. Nobody ever called me normal :) R&R!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I have had no reviews and no new followers. OK, I can understand the latter-I know I'm not a great writer-but, come on! everyone wants reviews. And there are way to say whatever you think about the story w/o being mean. Anyway, here's the next part. **_  
_

_As soon as they were cut, the bundle turned into Hestia. She jumped up, preparing to fight..._

…until she sees the demigods. Correctly guessing the looks on their faces, she relaxes and explains how she was caught.

"After Hera came back from her capture last winter, she explained what had happened. That put all of us on edge, but I decided to go for a walk when the hearth wasn't needed. That's when they got me. I felt someone grab me and knew it had to be a titan or a giant. The person wrapped me in silver chains and I was brought here. I kept trying to get loose and eventually someone heard me and they came at me with gold chains. Those made it impossible for me to move."

"That was earlier today, Lady," Piper said as she, Alex, and Annabeth curtsied while Jason bowed.

"It was when we help rescue demigods from the school out there,' she points to the door, "that we heard you. We found out it was you we heard and came back when we could get away."

"Thank you, but if we keep standing here whoever is out there is likely to come back to check on me. I'll just leave this for them." She set something down that looked like a marble but when it was in the place she had been left it appeared to be her, still tied up-unless you looked too hard, that is.

"What is that?" Alex asked.

"It manipulates the mist to whatever I want it to look like-and fires celestial bronze into anyone who gets too close. Considering no one knows who is out there, I'd say it's a good idea. Now," she turned towards them, "You need to come to Olympus to convince the other gods that what I'm saying is true. Just because I'm his sister doesn't mean Zeus trusts me." Before they could protest she said, "Close your eyes." This time, Jason closed them quickly.

The next thing they knew they were seeing the throne room on Olympus-and everyone was staring at them like they dropped out of thin air, which they had. Piper was sure she was blushing and she saw the others looked very nervous. Suddenly all the gods were talking at once. "HOLD IT" Zeus calls, "They shall explain in a moment but to hear it you have BE QUIET!" They shut up pretty fast. "Okay, now, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

Hestia explained all that had happened. "So," Zeus said when she finished, "You have no idea who did this?" They all shook their heads. "Well, we shall discuss this another time. Now, I think we should thank these three for finding her. Even if they did sneak away without permission." Piper noticed that she wasn't alone in finding a sudden interest in her shoes. "Or was it a quest? You will all find a special gift when you get back to camp," Zeus continued.

Hestia looked at them. "Thank you again for freeing me. Next time you need anything, feel free to ask," she told them. She turned to walk away and, after a step, disappeared. A second later, they were back at camp, next to the pine tree. The sky was getting light in the east but they still had a while before sunrise. They looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Did that really happen?" Alex asked.

**Like? Dislike? At least tell me! And, as I said (or typed :P) last chapter, the story is closing up. Should I draw it out with shorter chapters or make really long chapters and just end it? You choose! R & R!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own PJO**

"I think so," Piper replied.  
"Let's go see what they left us," Annabeth suggested.

"I, for one, want to be there when Chiron gets word we found her," Jason said with a smile.  
They walked to their cabins and went to the bunk they used at camp. Each spotted a box on top and picked it up to carry it outside, being careful not to wake anyone up. They could do without the questions for now.

At the dining pavilion they opened the boxes.

Alex was ecstatic about her new sword. It looked like a ring but if she slapped its center jewel it grew into a sword. If it fell off it always returned to her finger. She also received a watch that turned into a shield.

Annabeth got some books on architecture and graphing tools to go with it.

Jason found something that looked like a pile of gems in his box. A paper inside said that each gem would do something different. A diamond would send him to a member of his family, an emerald would move him to a place of his choice, a ruby would send him help if he needed it, along with a few others. He liked the diamonds best-those meant he could see Thalia whenever he wanted.

Piper got a note from her mom that she said would help her with her dad. She didn't share the details.

By the time they got done exploring their gifts, the sun had fully risen and camp was starting to stir. They agreed to keep their adventures a secret and jogged to their cabins, hiding their gifts along the way. Each one was assaulted with questions about where they had been-except Jason, of course, being the only one in his cabin. Their cabin mates all got different versions of the same story: "I woke up early and decided to go for a walk." However, they were strangely exhausted all day but tried to hide it.

Around noon they met up on the beach, knowing no one would be there. They shared their day and found it had been similar for all of them. Each had spent the day so far trying to stay awake and stay away from Chiron. Piper had the addition of leaving for a few minutes to call her dad.

"I think now is when Chiron usually sends messages," Alex said. "You want to go see if he's just now finding out?" There was a round of agreements. "Let's go then."

They went to the same window Piper and Annabeth had been at the day before. Chiron was just receiving a new message. It was Olympus. "We wanted to thank you for sending the quest that rescued Hestia. Without them, she would still be captive," Zeus said. He swiped through the message without waiting for a reply or seeing the baffled look on Chiron's face.

The foursome crouched lower and crawled away. Once out of earshot they burst out laughing. They had free time until dinner so they decided to go to the beach and maybe sleep a little. They were just settling in when Annabeth noticed someone coming. They ran to crouch behind a bush until they could see who it was. They hid even better, they thought, when they saw it was Chiron. It didn't help. He stopped a few feet away from them and said "You can come out now." The four appeared from behind the bush. "What's this I hear about you four rescuing Hestia? Would it have anything to do with you not being in your bunks last night?  
"How did you...?" Piper began.

"Know?" Chiron finished. "Your cabin mates reported that the counselors were not seen after dinner. So out with the details."

Jason sighed, then told him everything.

"Well," Chiron said when Jason was done. "It appears you made good out of bad, but next time I won't be so lenient. Piper your dad is probably looking for you by now. You and Alex best get home soon."  
"Yes, Chiron," she replied. He cantered off.

"Well, that was interesting," Annabeth commented.

"That's an understatement," Jason countered.

"Let's get out of here," Piper suggested. "Alex and I need to get home and calm Dad down. He wasn't very happy when I called him earlier."

"Ok," Annabeth said. "You two coming tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We're on break all week," Alex answered.

"See you then," Jason told them.

They split up, Piper and Alex headed home and Annabeth and Jason went back to their cabins. The nap was forgotten.

**Since no one seems to be reading and no one cares about the story, there's only one more chapter. Not that anyone cares. Whatever.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's the last chapter. R&R! I want to know what you think!**

After the short walk home, Piper and Alex went inside. Their dad was furious.

"Where were you?! I worried all night. Your note said nothing!"  
"Sorry, dad. We were on a quest," Piper replied.

"Quest? What quest? Who were you with?"

Piper glanced at Alex. They both knew their dad didn't know about half-bloods. "I guess it's too late to hide it now. He needs to know anyway."  
Their dad calmed down a little bit, his original rant over. "Need to know what?"

"Dad, do you remember that week you went missing?"

He thought a second, "Somewhat. What about it?"

"That week, a couple days after I figured out you were gone, I found out I was the daughter of Aphrodite. I made some friends at a camp for children of the gods and we went on a quest to free Hera and found you on the way. We killed your captor, Enceladus, and sent you home with Coach Hedge. You were in so much shock that Aphrodite gave me a potion that I gave you that made you forget the whole week." Their dad was looking shocked. Piper continued, "We rescued Hera a few hours after you came home. After the quest I was named counselor at camp. Then I had a meeting to go to about the quest and in that meeting we found out where another camper is. I came home a couple days after that. That's when you introduced me to Alex. She and I went for a walk on the beach and ran into the Minotaur. It tried to attack Alex but I told her to run around the corner to camp and get help. After my friends helped kill the monster, Alex got claimed by Poseidon. Then yesterday morning, Alex came and told me Annabeth had sent a dream message saying she needed help. We went and a rescue mission for a couple of young half-bloods turned into a rescue mission for Hestia, goddess of the hearth. That's why you didn't hear from us until this morning. We were gone all night freeing Hestia."

By now their dad needed to pick his jaw up off the floor, Alex thought. He looked utterly in shock and the look on his face suggested he was trying to place all this with what he knew.

"Your mom was a goddess?" he gasped out.

Piper nodded, finishing with, "I was afraid to tell you because of how you acted when we rescued you from the giant. Aphrodite gave me this letter to give you." She handed it to him and he put it in his pocket to read in a few minutes."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner. Now a lot makes sense. That's how you got hurt during Christmas break? Fighting the Minotaur?"

"Yeah, I didn't think you were ready for the truth yet. I'm still not sure I should have told you but I didn't have another excuse for being gone that you would have accepted."  
"You shouldn't have kept it from me at all! But I guess I understand. After what happened, you were afraid I couldn't handle it." Piper nodded and lowered her head. Her dad knelt down to her eye level. "But I _can_ handle it. I'm your dad and I'm always going to be there for you. For both of you. You can talk to be about anything. Now get upstairs you both look ready to fall asleep standing up."

It was true. They both were having trouble keeping their eyes open. They nodded and went upstairs as their dad started reading the letter.

"That went better than expected," Piper said.

"Definitely," Alex replied.  
"I'm glad we can sleep. I'm exhausted from being up all night. You want to go back later and see how Cassandra and Nick are doing?"

"You bet I do!" was the answered.

They fell asleep looking forward to camp tomorrow.


End file.
